8,000 local armed police will deal with fans at games during Euro 2012. Photograph: Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images

Fans travelling to watch England in action at Euro 2012 have been warned that racist Ukrainian football thugs could provide a flashpoint for violence.

English supporters and players are more likely to be on the receiving end of abuse than causing any trouble at next month's tournament, a police chief said.

Fewer than 3,000 fans are expected to be cheering on England at the team's opening matches, with more than 2,000 supporters of the team issued with banning orders to stop them travelling.

The assistant chief constable Andy Holt, who is leading the British police involvement in the tournament, said there is no intelligence that English fans are planning trouble.

Holt is travelling out to Ukraine and Poland with 23 other British officers in a bid to help 8,000 local armed police deal with fans at games. He said football hooliganism remains a problem in Ukraine, while England has gone to great efforts to clean up its act in recent decades.

But he said it was a concern that Ukrainian fans would bombard fans and players with abuse at matches to prompt retaliation. "It may be a flashpoint for some sort of disorder if fans feel they are being unfairly treated," he said.

The UK team of officers at the tournament, led by the Association of Chief Police Officers, will fly to Ukraine and Poland in time for England's first game, against France in Donetsk on 11 June. A team of 18 will remain in Ukraine and a team of six will be deployed in Poland.

Holt said: "The reality is that the overwhelming majority of England fans heading to Euro 2012 are there to support the national team and the game of football.

"Those who engage in any trouble must realise that they will feel the full force of local policing laws. Anyone involved in football-related trouble can also expect to face a football banning order when they return to the UK."

Holt said officers were there to make sure it did not get "messy". He added: "Police will be stepping up patrols in city centres to tackle any alcohol-related disorder as well as to manage any crowds at proposed big-screen events.

"As this is the last major sporting event ahead of the Olympics, the eyes of the world will be on England fans and we will hopefully be showcasing the best of our supporters at home and abroad."